Ever Ancient Ever New: Jesus’ Priesthood in Today’s Chaos

Satan has the upper hand with the Priesthood. It’s ordination time. With their eyes fixed on Christ, new priests can be a breath of fresh air in the Church.

Note to readers from Father Gordon MacRae: On June 5, I will mark my 35th anniversary of priesthood ordination. Two-thirds of my time as a priest has been spent cast into one of the dark peripheries to which Pope Francis points the gaze of the Church. I struggled, really struggled, to write a post for this week to mark this occasion. I mailed it, but alas, eight days later it had not yet arrived. So my post will be featured here next Wednesday, God willing. In a pinch, I invited (begged is more like it) Father Stuart MacDonald to write in my stead this week. He had no idea of anything I had written about priesthood, nor did I give him a topic. On the night before this is posted, his guest post was read to me and it is perfect. It is powerful. And it is the truth. I humbly ask you on behalf of all priests to share this post, to pray for us priests, and to return next week for my voice from the wilderness. With Divine Mercy Blessings, Father Gordon MacRae.

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It’s ordination season. Seminarians, having finished the final academic year of their theological studies, are generally ordained as priests in the months of May and June. Last week I had the honour of preaching at the first Mass of the newly ordained priest in my diocese. On such occasions, it’s quite common for a priest to receive compliments: everyone, after all, is excited about the newly ordained priest. Just like all newborn babies are the prettiest that anyone has ever seen, so a first Mass is the best that anyone has ever attended. Well-grounded priests don’t let themselves get carried away by the free-flowing praise. The reaction to my homily, however, gave me pause. It’s not that my homily was so scintillating; rather, what gives me pause is that people seemed to be deeply moved that a priest spoke the truth and spoke it from the heart.

In many ways, my homily was serious and direct about the responsibilities that the newly ordained had taken upon himself. It was not full of platitudes and congratulations. Playing on the name of the new priest, I compared that day to Boxing Day, when the Church focuses our attention on the martyrdom of St. Stephen as an antidote to the festivities of the previous day. I suggested that, in like manner, this first Mass was a sobering reality check to the joyous celebration of the young man’s ordination the previous day. Now he had to get down to work and be a priest, to carry on the work of redemption by giving his life to the service of Christ and the Church. That’s not terribly deep stuff. I expanded a bit and described how he must be full of hope, trusting in Christ for his solace, because suffering would inevitably come. I recounted how obedience, celibacy, indifference and jealousy among other things could cause him to become discouraged if he was not careful, if he ever stopped trusting in Christ and looked only to himself.

I think that simple meditation on the priesthood was something new to the ears of priests and laity alike that day. I had a married man describe how he was brought to tears by what I said; his wife confirmed that she had never seen him react like that before. There were colleagues in the diocese who seemed taken aback, perhaps because I had spoken out loud things that they have experienced but never voiced before. In any event, it was highly unusual to experience the number of people who felt the need to seek me out in the large crowd to express their thanks for my words.

All this week I have been pondering what exactly had happened. For the most part, I don’t believe that lay people understand the life of a priest. At the same time, many presbyterates feel so beaten and broken by everything that has happened in the last fifteen years that priests don’t know how to communicate with each other, or with their flocks. That may seem too bleak to some. Perhaps it is, but I suspect that it is not too far off base, it if is at all. My laying it on the line with all frankness for a new young priest was something new for that group of faithful Catholics. That should give us all pause.

Why is it that priests are afraid to speak the truth? Why is it that the faithful have such a shallow understanding of priestly life? It doesn’t speak well of the Church. Nor does it bode well for her. It doesn’t speak well of her because it means that communication between the shepherds and the flock has broken down. It doesn’t bode well because young men have little to attract them to the priesthood. As I attempted to articulate in my homily, the priesthood faces the same crisis that the world does precisely because our priests are chosen from that same broken, sinful world that Christ wishes to redeem. So the Church and the priesthood may be a paler reflection of the culture around us, but a reflection it is.

We live in a world in which family life is corrupted and unstable. Religion and piety are considered irrelevant for the most part. Corruption, greed and selfishness are virtues if they help you get ahead in the world. Our priests are chosen from men who have been nurtured in that environment. Does it surprise us that Robert Cardinal Sarah recently wrote of bishops in this way:It can happen that a good, pious priest, once he is raised to the episcopal dignity, quickly falls into mediocrity and a concern for worldly success. Overwhelmed by the weight of the duties that are incumbent on him, worried about his power, his authority, and the material needs of his office, he gradually runs out of steam?

The same can be said for an idealistic, enthusiastic seminarian after he is ordained priest. I think that’s what I tried to say in my homily at the first Mass. What exacerbates the problem further, is that Satan has succeeded in planting the tiniest seed of doubt about priests in the minds of everyone, even the faithful: every priest today is looked upon with suspicion. The result is that priests struggle to survive, receding to safe spaces of preaching that which will not discomfort, of administrative efficiency, of obedience that will keep superiors happy and of distance from their flock that will salve the suspicions. At the same time, the faithful are disconnected from their shepherds, bereft of soul-searching preaching and wandering in a world that lures them away from anything God-like.

To step into that and speak openly and honestly about the priesthood and its struggles is, simply put, a novelty, and, apparently refreshing. That should give us hope! The work of evangelization can be fostered just by being honest and truthful, in other words, sincere and orthodox. People need to hear the truth of their faith, with all of its challenges. Faith is serious business. Deep down, people know that. Sometimes, we as priests and bishops are so worried about keeping pews full, collections up and complaints down that we stop being honest and faithful in our preaching. I have openly told friends of mine, after attending Mass somewhere, usually while on holiday or something, that I would find it a real struggle to be faithful to the Sunday Mass obligation simply because there is so little out there that is nourishing. That’s a scandalous thing to say, to be sure.

So how did we get here? How could a simple, honest homily cause such a stir? The answer, I think, is to be found in the fear which grips the presbyterate. We are still reeling from the effects of the smallest and ugliest side of the priesthood rearing its ugly head and being exposed. The panic and fear that arose because people discovered that one of the ugliest sins around had been committed by priests is still with us fifteen years later. It doesn’t matter that only a small percentage of clergy are guilty; it doesn’t matter that the Church had legislated against this crime since at least the fourth century; it doesn’t matter that we live in a world where lust is a virtue; nor does it matter that the sin is more common among family members than it is in the clergy. The damage has been done. Satan has taken the upper hand, clouded our judgment and skewed our perspective. Fear and panic have driven us to a public image of perfection. There will be no more sin because we have all the programs to prevent it. There will be no struggle because that’s a sign of weakness. Or so we tell ourselves. Deep down, if we’re in the mood for it, as apparently some people were at a first Mass, we know that it can’t work that way.

I suppose that’s why so many of us feel acutely the suffering being endured by Fr. Gordon MacRae, who graciously invited me to write this guest column. He is one of the victims of the fear and panic. I simply cannot fathom what it must be like for him to endure this trial except to encourage him that he is being shaped into a saint. Part of my homily at that first Mass was about St. Peter’s exhortation to “be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you.” (1 Peter 3: 15) That hope comes only from Christ for everyone, but especially a priest. And that’s the point, there are priests undergoing the gravest of struggles, like Fr. MacRae, who remain beacons of light and hope. On the face of it, Fr. MacRae’s situation is hopeless. Like our Lord, he’s falsely accused as a criminal and enduring an excruciating punishment. Despite that, he teaches me from the pulpit of his cell what it means to be a priest. He is not afraid to write about his struggles, his own journey of faith. We see how he ministers to so many in prison, not through any rituals or prayers, but simply by being faithful and hopeful. It’s his honesty and frankness which refresh and nourish our faith. If only we could learn that lesson as an institution.

How sad it is that there is practically no one on earth with fewer rights than a priest. Fathers have turned on their sons in the face of public pressure, in the exact measure that Cardinal Sarah so bravely wrote about. It is no wonder a priest is afraid to be sincere and honest in his work – it might get him in trouble. Exacerbated by the suspicion in which priests are held in our culture, the smallest word or gesture to a suspicious listener or onlooker leads to the full weight of the law coming down on the priest ad cautelam pro bono ecclesiae (as a precaution for the good of the Church). And the suspicious world sighs in relief; the cowed bishop relaxes that he has done his job and the rest of the priests wonder if they will be next. Because it doesn’t matter if there is truth. Accusation is now our indicator of truth. Does that mean that there is never any truth, or real punishable crime? Of course not! But what price are we paying for our insecure security? Well, Fr. MacRae can end up in jail, facilitated by the ready judgment of his confreres and superiors, scapegoated by those seeking financial gain, denied justice by the lady herself. We have created an atmosphere where priests are afraid to be priests, let alone human. We mirror the breakdown of family life when fathers become police officers to their sons. We suffer inwardly as brother distances himself from brother, and shepherd from his sheep.

In the week before I preached at that first Mass, a friend of mine who is a successful and competent professional, a faithful Catholic, when I told her I was preparing the homily, shared with me that she cannot understand why any young man would be attracted to the priesthood given the constraints that he now faces: namely not being able to count on the support of his bishop in the face of controversy, the lack of any true due process, unless one wishes to undergo a long and costly recourse that might win the battle but not the war, and the general disregard of the priesthood in the world. I was a little taken aback by what she said. Maybe that influenced me in what I preached about. The attraction, for those willing to look, is the joy that comes from knowing that one is doing what Christ has asked him to do. There’s the reason for any priest’s hope.

We may face a particular form of suffering in our modern world, and Fr. MacRae a particularly brutal form of it, but I wouldn’t trade any of it for something else. I don’t dare speak for him, but I suspect Fr. MacRae knows exactly what I am talking about. He is the one, I am told, who received a letter from a deacon who is about to be ordained priest in a few weeks. That man asked Fr. MacRae to pray for him to be a holy priest. Just think about that, and let that sink in. That’s a brave, hopeful priest who knows what he is about. I’m sure Fr. MacRae is, but I certainly will be praying for him. He knows what he is about. He’s going to make a fine priest if he keeps his gaze fixed on Christ.

We don’t need a lot of really smart intellectuals in the Church (although we do need them); we don’t need a lot of really good administrators either (but we do need some). We certainly don’t need priests seized with fear who are intent only in succeeding in the system (God spare us from those). We need men of hope, gaze fixed on Christ, who are willing to speak with honesty and frankness to the people entrusted to their care. Congratulations to all the men out there being ordained to the Priesthood. Be holy priests. Be hope-filled priests. Be for all of us, like Fr. MacRae from the stuffiness of his small, dank cell, a breath of fresh air.

Now, Fathers, let’s get down to work!

Fr. Stuart MacDonald has been ordained for twenty years for the Diocese of St. Catharines in Canada. He is a canon lawyer and has worked in various parishes as well as for the Holy See. Currently, he is settling into a new assignment to a parish in his diocese.

About Fr. Gordon J. MacRae

The late Cardinal Avery Dulles and The Rev. Richard John Neuhaus encouraged Father MacRae to write. Cardinal Dulles wrote in 2005: “Someday your story and that of your fellow sufferers will come to light and will be instrumental in a reform. Your writing, which is clear, eloquent, and spiritually sound will be a monument to your trials.” READ MORE

Comments

Father Stuart,
Thank you so much for your beautiful post and for your priestly witness. May God bless you and keep you always!
Continue to share truth and the Word of God to your flock and all the souls entrusted to your care.
God bless you.
In Christ,
Marti

I do not mean to diminish the intent of this post, nor to incur the wrath of the (predictably) universal adulation it will receive from the other commenters, but I have yet to speak to a priest who is not defensive about the unnamed scandal concerning “one of the ugliest sins around”.

The way the abuse of innocent children by what was once the most trusted people in their lives, next to their own parents, is described here is oddly defensive, almost apologetic — “one of the ugliest sins around, committed by priests” — as if to say, “it’s ugly, it’s around, you don’t think priest do it, too?”

There is no defense for that abuse of trust in each and every case in which it occurred, nor in the institutional mishandling of it.

No defense. It’s indefensible. Don’t even try. Just fall down and ask for mercy.

You’re right, of course. There’s no rationalization for injustice. I’m quite sure you’re sincere in what you write and all with good motivation. But for the sake of any readers, let me makes a few things clear.

Father MacDonald would not for a second have thought of making any kind of defense for such things. And that’s not the logic of what he wrote. I think he’s going after another injustice which actual victims really hate, the witch hunt which doesn’t hesitate to respect all accusations as proof of guilt regardless of some or even many of those being even blatantly false accusations. That simply doesn’t matter. But I’ll tell you this, people get sick of false accusations getting settlements while the priest is forbidden to defend himself. The result of that is that a time will come when real victims will be ignored. That’s an injustice. All purposed injustice leads to more injustice. Let’s just be just all around. Right? This is not defending abuse; this is stopping the abuse in a real fashion, with justice, not just by way of useless self-congratulatory reactionary witch hunts which, in the end, not only don’t help, but hurt, and hurt bad.

Also, let’s just keep in mind that it’s rare for a child to bring an accusation. Most cases are brought by the middle aged, and many after the accused is long dead. Accusations, regardless of veracity, get settlement monies thrown at them with no due process for the accused. That’s the case of Thomas Grover against Father Gordon, and all other cases in Manchester Diocese and pretty much everywhere else. It’s pretty much automatic: accusations bring in money.

Father Gordon has been approached many times in prison by other prisoners who are eager for names of priests that they might accuse so as to make money. Let that sink in.

What Father MacDonald is saying is that the hysteria of the witch hunt should calm down so that justice is available to everyone. That’s the only way to deal with the problem. Becoming heroes by being “tough on abuse” by forbidding due process is actually itself abuse and leads to more abuse when that so-called “being tough” is no longer trusted. We can trust in justice. It is justice that those falsely accused desire.

Again, this isn’t “defensiveness” by yet another to-be-dismissed-priest-because-he’s-a-priest. It is, instead, a thirst for justice for all concerned so as to curtail abuse also in the future. Is that a bad thing? No. Is that a good thing. Yes.

Father MacDonald, what I really like about your post (among other things) is that you point out the epic battle ongoing between Christ and Satan for our souls. This battle now includes the division sown among priests and their flocks, and priests and their own BISHOPS—which Satan has seemingly managed to pull off.

A house divided cannot stand.

Yes, priests need to continually keep their eyes on Christ—they cannot do this on their own steam. And how will the rest of us laity fare in this battle if we do not pray for our priests?!

That Father Macrae has managed to continue to survive as a hostage and living witness in this battle is a testament to supernatural Grace.

Yesterday I was having lunch with a lady who is the Faith Formation Director in a local Catholic parish. During the course of our conversation she spoke about how today’s children do not realize that there is a difference in Christian denominations. If they accept going to church at all, they think any Christian denomination is ok. They go to the most convenient church or the one where their friends go or where they have the most jovial pastors. They choose the church they will marry in by the interior decor. Whatever happened to the Catholic church is the ONLY TRUE church?
The Rosary? They think it is a tacky piece of jewelry.
How did so many sink to this level of ignorance? Why don’ t our priests and bishops educate the people from the pulpit? They of all people should understand that Catholic schools are not available to all, they have priced themselves out of most families’ budgets. Plus with the loss of the teaching Sisters, there is little religion being handed down to the students. What is happening?

Thank you Fr. MacDonald,…twice. For your, straight from the Heart words in the Homily,
& the above Post. Both you & Fr, G. speak from your lived experience as Priests.
The anti-gospel has been a 2 pronged attack on the Church, & the Family….We need the sort of honesty you & Fr. G. have shared in your Homilies. I think the Apostles shared the “Good News” in the same way. They shared their experiences of living with Jesus for 3 years, His works, & how they reacted to the His Cross, Death, & Resurrection. That’s the way Hope is spread….You Guys live The Good News!
Thank you Fr. G.! <3 I hope your 35th Anniversary is marked by a New Mass Kit,
& for you, Max, & Chen, at the very least, to be moved together someplace, .you are able to Pray The Mass…(Ireland is nice! 🙂
Pax Christi-
Kathleen

How this superb post resonates with me; how I, and many of my parishioner friends wish so much to hear words such as these on a Sunday. With “warm, fuzzy” sermons, who in the world would really think that attendance at Holy Mass was important, or that one’s soul needed saving? ” God is merciful, and I am going to heaven no matter what, because God is merciful!” The trouble is, that they do not know what the Mass is all about. No one has ever told them.

Yes, I will gladly forward this post to everyone I know. I pray for Fr. MaCrae and all priests, especially those who are being crucified, at my hours of adoration every week. I talk to Our Loving Saviour and ask him, “Am I consoling you? Please help me to console you and all our Lady’s Beloved Priests”.

Poor, wonderful, generous young men, who give up everything, to help us become saints. They are at the mercy of bad bishops. Those bishops are supposed to be the successors of the apostles! What has happened? The only time I have heard what we are supposed to hear, in the last 3 years, has come only from the African priests! Just think of that statement. They really know how to preach, and their ZEAL is palpable.

Praise God that finally so many people will hear what a priest has to endure. You (priests) are ALL in my heart and prayers. Never give up, faithful servants of Christ, The Father has your back and so does many of us simple sinners.
Please know, my heart and prayers are with each one of you.

Father MacRae, I keep you very much in my prayers. Only the Lord knows why He permits your situation to continue, but I know you trust in Him; I have no doubt that He is making good use of this situation, for you and for souls, both near and far. And I know that upon your own cross, you most closely resemble the Master, the Merciful Lord. May the Blessed Virgin, the Queen of Priests, keep you always in the sure refuge of Her Immaculate Heart. And you, Father, please keep all of us in your prayers.

Father Stuart MacDonald, I am so very proud of you for this powerful and beautifully written witness to your Church and faith. I have long been reading These Stone Walls with great interest, and I have just as long been wondering where all the priests are. It is only in recent years that I have seen a growing presence through comments by other priests, but they are few. I have also long wondered how it is even possible that Father MacRae maintains a strong priestly identity for so long in a place that only wars against it. You have stepped up magnificently here and for this your fellow Catholics owe you a debt of thanks whether they know it or not. Your fellow priests especially owe you their gratitude today. May you be blessed for your heart of justice and courage.
Dorothy

Thank you, Father Stuart, for your wise words to all of us! Our youngest son is discerning whether God is calling him to the Holy Priesthood after he graduates from college. His priestly role models have been a family friend who suffered for more than two decades at the hands of his bishops & chancery staff, & Fr. MacRae. They model the life of Jesus to him in so many ways & have been willing to talk with him & speak truthfully. Your words make the reality of daily life as a priest clearer for laity who have no idea what a typical day for their priest is really like. Thank you! God bless you & your ministry!

A beautiful guest post Father. Thank you and thanks to Fr MacDonald.
I have put the following poem on a comment here before but feel that it may be appropriate to add it here for any reader who may not have seen it.

THE HANDS OF THE PRIEST (by that prolific writer Anon)

We need them in life’s early morning
We need them again at its close
We feel their warm clasp of true friendship
We seek them when tasting life’s woes.
When we come to this world we are sinful
The greatest as well as the least
And the hand that makes us as pure as angels
Is the beautiful hand of the Priest.
And when we are tempted to wander
To the pathway of shame and of sin
Tis the hand of the Priest will absolve us
Not once, but again, and again.
And when we are taking life’s partner
Other hands may prepare us a feast;
But the hand that will bless and unite us
Is the beautiful hand of the Priest.
At the Altar each day we behold them
And the hands of a king on his throne
Are not equal to them in their greatness.
Their dignity stands all alone.
For there in the stillness of morning
‘Ere the sun has emerged from the East
Our God rests between pure fingers
Of the beautiful hands of the Priest.
And when death dews on our eyelids are falling
May our courage and strength be increased
By seeing raised over us in blessing
The beautiful hands of the Priest.

Helen – I bought a prayer card showing this poem over 50 years ago and some years later I mislaid it. When I tried to buy a second copy from various Catholic bookshops I was somewhat surprised and saddened to find that nobody stocked it and did not even know where I could buy another copy. (Mine was 2d! that is 2 old pennies) One elderly lady knew what I was asking for but others had not even heard of it. Happily it turned up eventually.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if such a prayer card could be reprinted to help a new generation of Catholics to be fully aware of what we owe to our priests and thus encourage more vocations to the Priesthood?

Come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of thy faithful and enkindle within them the fire of Thy love.

Father Stuart, WHEW! PRAISE GOD FOR YOU. I clearly ‘see’ the reason people stopped, listened and were blessed by your homily. It was so evident as I read. Here it is; “you will know the truth, AND THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE.” …John 8:32.

Father Stuart, you, like Fr. Gordon does so often, have managed to set us free. Thank you. I feel what the congregation was feeling, I think; refreshed and emboldened. I didn’t think I would ever hear such Truth from any other priest except Fr. Gordon. Thank you for your courage and grace.

When we hear the Word of God, as it is intended, it gives us the sense that we are in the right place at the right time. It’s mesmerizing, lifting, it feeds the soul. It satisfies our spirits, convicted in the Holy Spirit, when we hear Him speak to our hearts thru His sons.

Siting your words: “…does it matter that the sin is more common among family members than it is in the clergy. How true these words! Morals are almost dead in the world, today. It’s a scary feeling. Thinking back on my childhood, it was normal to follow the Commandments and practice loving God and neighbor. Today, not even neighbors speak to one another. (I am a social person, I speak to everybody. The gift to me from the Lord, I often can do it as if I’ve always knew them. I’ve heard a phrase once, and it stuck; “We are all friends; we just haven’t met yet”. But when I do speak, they, more often than not, seemed shocked. Sad., this world. It was so much better when we didn’t kick God out of our schools. Seems that was the start of it, here in America.

God bless and thank you, ever so much, for taking up this effort on behalf of our Fr. Gordon, who is another Truth-bearer. It is sheer blessing to hear another one of Mary’s sons preach Her Son’s Words with meaning and purpose. You’re right Father, we don’t get enough of it. As usual, I will share this post and even send it thru email.
This time, I am going to print and send it to my church. I have done this in past times. This is one that ‘can’t get away’.

From this day forward, . You, like Fr. Gordon, Max, Chen, have become part of my prayer family. We NEED more priests like you and he. Please, never give up the fight for Christ. We the people NEED His sons to help us to see.

Again, thank you, and praise God for you. Praying Mama Mary will hold you deeply in Her Immaculate Heart, right there with Fr. Gordon.